


Torments of War

by SimpleZebras



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Battle of Hogwarts, Fluff and Angst, Grimmauld Place, Implied Attraction, M/M, Nightmares, Post-Battle of Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 17:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6337759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimpleZebras/pseuds/SimpleZebras
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was nothing good about war, Sirius thought.<br/>It was ghastly, devastating and cruel, bringing nothing but suffering and loss to all those involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Torments of War

Walking Tall Can Hurt Your Back After A While.

 

Sirius Orion Black whipped his wand through the air, using a cascading jinx to defeat the several Death Eaters that had surrounded him.

The battle was fierce, deafening, frightening. Grunts were flowing freely from Black as streams of red light were being propelled from his wand. He was defending the courtyard alongside Filius Flitwick, Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin. So much screaming, so many cries of pain. Explosions from every direction. It echoed through his mind, filling him with an inconceivable dread. There was nothing good about war, he thought as he blocked an attack from the offense.

It was ghastly, devastating and cruel.

 

“Crucio!”

Sirius spun on his heel as he watched a boy, not much younger than Harry, fall to the ground with an agonising howl. Without a second's hesitation, the animagus threw an unnamed killing spell at the Death Eater standing above the boy. He started forward to assist him but was cut off by a curse from another of Voldemort’s bastard followers.

Black flew through the air, intense pain coursing through his body. He hit the ground with a groan, but had no time to pay any attention to the lack of air in his lungs. He gripped his wand, swivelled round and sent his attacker soaring backwards.

His grey eyes caught sight of Remus. He was dueling with a Death Eater known as Antonin Dolohov. Black hoisted himself off the ground with great effort, using the remainder of the wall for support. As he was proceeding to continue defending Hogwarts, he watched Dolohov break Remus’ defense with what could have only been a severing charm.

“REMUS!” The name tore chords in Sirius’ throat on exit of his person.

He broke into a run, as if he could catch his friend before he came into contact with the rubble covered ground, from the other end of the courtyard.

Flitwick brandished his wand, reducing Dolohov to ash. Black dropped to his knees beside Remus, forgetting the battle, abandoning his defenses.

“Remus, Remus, my friend, h-hold still.”

An unsteady, bloodsoaked hand gripped the dark haired man’s shoulder. Lupin’s usually kind, amber eyes now looked up with him with detest and betrayal.

“Y-You killed them... And you’ve killed m-me...”

Sirius woke with a cry, sweat dripping from his body as he sat up in his bed. His breathing was uneven and ragged. He wiped a hand over his face and after he calmed himself, got out of his bed. Black picked a shirt off the floor, pulling it over his head. This wasn't the first time he had been startled awake by a nightmare about the battles in which he had fought in and so his body acted automatically. There was only one thing that could calm his rapidly beating heart and save him from the terrors his mind always dwelled on. The floorboards creaked under his weight when he walked across the cold wood. His slender fingers wrapped themselves around the golden doorknob of his bedroom door, and twisted, opening it up and letting the light from a small lamp in the hall invade the darkness his eyes were used to. 

He squinted and blinked a few times before silently continuing down the hall, passing his younger brother’s old room. As usual, Sirius lingered there.

Despite how much of an impressionable idiot Regulus was, he did miss him. That couldn’t be helped. But neither could the sickness in his gut. His brother was known to be dead. There would be no reunion or reconciliation with the younger Black brother. Upon reaching one of the guest rooms, Sirius exhaled slowly before pressing his hand to the warped door, slowly opening it up just a few inches; just so he could look at the sleeping Remus. He always looked so bloody peaceful when he slept. The pain of his nightmares diminished and Padfoot was able to smile ever so slightly.

With little hesitation, he transformed into the dog, padded into the werewolf's room, leapt up onto the bed, circled the spot he wanted and finally lay down, comfortably curled in beside Remus’ stomach and chest. A quiet whine left the dog as it looked out of the window in the dark room, up into the starry night sky.

He would sleep better now.

He would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> ~ A little something I wrote one day, intended to work with a Twitter account of mine.  
> Thank you for taking your time to read this. I hope you liked it; it was definitely an enjoyable, short piece to write.


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